pentapus

Here's some Naruto art...


There's no good reason for this. Ok, no, the reason is that I love pictures with Kakashi and his ninken, but I am bad enough at one dog; I am not fucking drawing eight, jfc.


And this one is for torch. Apparently there are lots of Hashirama and Madara feels in canon these days. Since I'm woefully behind on that, she should probably write fic about it.

I'm trying to be all tumblr savvy now, so please don't post these to tumblr before I do. (The first one is already on tumblr here.)

I participated in kakairu_fest's summer round - Team Bingo.

I made two fanworks for the challenge, one of them in a hotel room in my travel sketchbook with my only working micron pen + a black sharpie. I had to ask the front desk to scan it for me on their awful, awful scanner (it was meant for text, not images), and then I spent an hour in the lobby cleaning it up with my laptop's trackpad. While my coworker asked with increasing desperation if we were going to leave for the airport soon. NEVER AGAIN.

I'm on Team AU so, psst, you should vote for them. Voting isn't until next weekend. I'll give you a heads up when it starts. ;)

Hawk and Wolf, Kakashi/Iruka, PG
Animals AU - specifically a LadyHawke fusion


Falling, Kakashi/Iruka, PG
Supernatural/Angels and Demons AU

Knowing Me, Knowing You
Kakashi/Iruka, G
A simple joint mission goes awry.

Guys, read this. I have never loved -- well, I won't tell you which cliche -- before because it is usually about farcical comedy and misunderstandings, but this story, WOW, uses it to show us so many things about Kakashi and Iruka that they themselves have stopped thinking about, and then of course they each respond to it in their own particular way.

It also contains one of my personal favorite cliches -- when characters who've heard of the giant badass run into the giant badass without realizing who they're talking to.

This story is just so delightfully CHARACTER CHARACTER CHARACTER spread over a delicious cracker made of plot and seasoned with such a detailed world. It won me over entirely with the first description of the Sharingan. Because of course I fucking love the Sharingan -- who doesn't love magical eyes that simultaneously make you a badass and increase your likelihood of fainting in public at inconvenient times.

Also, p.s. it was written for ME. Dear Wednesday: Victory!


Once again, if you need some intro to Naruto fandom, I previously recced it here and a bit here. Basically: it's a ninja village in psuedo-modern japan with plenty of world-building by way of mixing the bad ass with the mundane - a.k.a. deadly secret techniques + paperwork and politics. Also, ninja are basically wizards who know martial arts. ♥

The art posts for kakairu_fest are up! In fact the whole fest is posted is it's entirety, and there is one more week of voting. (You can also just read without voting if the competition feel is not your fandom space.) Some seriously good stuff here.

Entry Master Post <- click! Read! Look!

Art Posts:

Remember, you'll have nooooo idea which is mine. In fact, it isn't already obvious just from the previews. That's what I like about art - the anonymity.

<-- Post one: "Lost"

Post two: "Good Sport"

Recs:

I enjoyed the hell out of a lot of the stories that got posted, above and beyond my expectations. Honestly, the whole thing is worth checking out if you are a fan of Kakashi or Iruka. That said, my four very favorite stories were:

Bringing Up Kakashi, which is freaking fantastic Asimov-style AU with robots and artifical intelligence.

Sealed. Really liked this story's canon feel. The event that sets off the story has that special kind of bizarrely-real feeling. Kakashi is found at the foot of the Hokage monument, apparently having fallen, but no one knows if he was pushed or jumped -- ninja can't just fall, can they? I loved the details of the house Iruka spends most of the story working on. You pretty quickly figure out the secret of the house, but the details of the world-building and the characters' emotions keep you interested and invested while you're getting there. And 'there' is someplace you really want to be.

Rhythm of the Heart. Strictly Ballroom AU. Really well executed. Loved the descriptions of the dancing and Iruka's experiences being thrown into it. I wish I could create a world this real just from wikipedia research.

Excuses Solve.... Fantastic canon story in which Iruka is working on a civilian graduate degree and doing research on Shinobi survival rates vs. academy time. Loved all the behind the scenes details -- where the data is kept, who's in charge of processing those ubiquitous mission reports, and the implications of truly awful handwriting. Also how Iruka has to do statistics without computers!

By Land or Sea, (1/?)
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, and (eventually) a lot of Kakashi.
Pairings: Kakashi/Sakura, Shikamaru/Temari (FOR LIFE)

Fic based on: By Land or Sea, a fanmix by oroburos69, which not only had some wonderfully evocative cover art but also a great list of songs. I am very glad to have claimed it. :)

Lengthy note: ( About the pairing )


Summary: Something that doesn't have anything to do with Kakashi suddenly turns out to have a lot to do with Kakashi.


( Ino had wrapped her cornsilk hair around her head in a tight braid and put on a high-necked jerkin that turned her chest into an armored battlement. She looked about about as ready to eat the unwary as Ino usually did, but this woman wouldn’t stop to make sure her victim enjoyed the experience. She eyed Sakura up and down and with her usual solid grasp of undercover work, came out with, 'What are you supposed to be?' )

Thank you for linking me to all those challenges, guys. I have now signed up for:

1.
(Due Feb 29)

2.
trekreversebang
(Due April 1)

3. sgaartvalentine, for which I have no idea what to actually draw. Please leave more prompts.
(Due Feb 9)

4. kakasaku Reverse Bang, which is a pairing that generally worries me, but I'll be a writer, see? So that will... work... right.
(Art due Feb 20, claims until April 15, story due April 30)

Though I didn't sign up for it, there's also
5.
kbl_reversebang
which is currently suffering from too many writers and not enough artists, if you happen to be a graphic-inclined glee fan. :)
(Sign-ups until Feb 7, Art due March 28)

I AM DRAWING NINJAS.



torch asked for Kakashi and Sakura in each other's clothes, so I drew... uh.... something else entirely. In my defense, the original sketch of Kakashi in this pose was wearing Sakura's stuff, but the picture seemed to have moved beyond that. Basically, I discovered a reference site called Bodies in Motion, and I am super happy.

Also, a long time ago I told torch that if she wrote Naruto fic, I would draw her pictures. So, all I'm saying here is my word is good.

Twenty days until my dream trip to China. I leave September 26, and I won't be home til Christmas. Wish me luck. \o/


Previous images:
Set 2: H50 Dr. Who Inception Temeraire Glee XMFC
Set 1: H50 Dr. Who Leverage SGA SPN Highlander

FANDOMS: SGA (Team!), Xfiles (Mulder/Scully), Merlin (Merlin/Arthur), Due South (RayK/Fraser), Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (Team!), Naruto (Kakashi/Iruka)




( The best giant orange-flavored hard candy in the universe. )


( Scully: You are my favorite. )


( The most adorably innocent yet really phallic image ever. )


( Dief knows what's up. )


( Mia, you were my first beloved, badass lady. Even if a lot of people didn't think so just because of all that pink. )


( Would this face lie? )

Every time I try to get into a new, large fandom -- H50, Inception, Xmen -- somehow it always ends with me thinking, "Man, Kakashi is totally awesome."

Maybe later more recs, but until then here's a link to my previous mini-pimp post with a few recs.

Ok, I'll add one more rec:

The Girl from Whirlpool (Naruto, Minato/Kushina) by SilverShine is a delicious world-building romp through a functioning ninja village, complete with school, missions, gossip, and plenty of peril, all centered around the story of how Naruto's parents meet. Minato is a likable, good-natured genius who kind of floats through life wondering when it's going to get difficult. And then he meets Kushina, a refugee orphan covered in dirt. He saves her from some bullies, and she thanks him by punching him in the gut. She is pretty much the most awesome, impossible person ever.

As bonus, the story sports a compelling plot that manages to weave in plenty of character development, and almost all of the events originate from some part of Naruto canon. Naruto has a huge cast of characters and multiple generations -- many of them appear here and all of them are distinct, interesting people with a part to play in ninja life. Did I mention that includes Kakashi's awesome, prickly, badass dad and wee Kakashi? On the other hand, it's so well woven, you don't need to be know any Naruto at all to follow it.

But FORGET ALL OF THAT. The best part of this story is that these are the most badass ninja ever. The author writes all of the weird ninja abilities of the Naruto universe with a common sense and simplicity that leaves you shivering with delight. Like, watching Erik Lensherr send back the missiles of an entire battalion kind of delight. In particular, Naruto canon is obsessed with his dad's secret technique (Hiraishin aka Flying Thunder God - ok, I admit, that's a really cool name). I never cared until I read this story -- and now I think the Flying Thunder God technique is the coolest fucking thing ever.

Yeah, so, read it.

If you're not familiar with Naruto there are roughly a bajillion places to read or watch it online or download it. I just use the manga reader on Naruto Spot.

So, I sort of disappeared off the face of the planet there for a while. School has been, it turns out, really time consuming -- who knew!

I've been spending a lot of time searching for My Next True Fandom after Stargate: Atlantis, and to be honest, I haven't had much success.

1. Leverage -- I came for Parker (Best Parker Moments - youtube) and stayed for Parker, Hardison (character intro -- youtube), and most importantly: Eliot (Eliot on knives and people - youtube). Parker is honestly weird in way that's not supposed to make her sexy, and is given a lot of the comedy in the show -- 2 big pros for me in a female character. Hardison is gorgeous, ridiculous, sweet, super nerdy -- the writers know their stuff too (unlike SGA's attempts to make a WoW reference) -- and very good at what he does. He has unresolved Romantic Tension with Parker that will make your heart melt.

I recommend Season 1 and Season 2, and the parts of season 3 with Parker/Hardison. ( Season 3 - not my happy place. But at least it has Parker. )



2. Inception - I loved this movie, and I loved this fic -- for about a week, until Arthur/Eames bored me beyond reason. In canon, Eames objects to Arthur on a fundamental philosophical level. In short: Arthur is a technician; Eames is an artist. From what we see of Arthur, this is not a wrongful accusation. Hardly an obstacle to a slash pairing, but inception fic never addresses it -- fic!Eames finds Arthur irresistible. Also, good luck finding anything about Ariadne, Saito, Dom, or Yusuf. Sigh. ETA: I don't really think Eames hates Arthur's guts, but I did feel like Arthur was this guy he'd worked with before who rubbed him the wrong way.

That said, do go read the two inception fics by rageprufrock. Presque Vu is temporarily down from Ao3, but it's the fandom's best piece of world-building, backstory, and portrayal of Mal, Dom, Arthur, and a really endearing, ridiculous Eames. The second is just funny.

So long, Inception, it was a deeply enjoyable, whirlwind affair.

3. Naruto - The bad: too long, weak girls, bad animation. BUT --
1) It's about ninja!
2) It successfully creates a huge, interconnected, varied cast of characters that reaches across generations. And while the girls don't win the big battles, I do like them a lot. But my favorite character is, of course --

3)Kakashi!



( Kakashi shows up late for his first day as Team 7's teacher -- and gets hit by the eraser Naruto's wedged above the door )

4) As a side note, I sort of feel like every Naruto fan has to have their personal vote for next Hokage (aka the Ninja Mayor). My vote is Nara Shikamaru. Laziest grumpy genius ever. The most annoying moment of his life was when he got promoted. And then it turned out he was good at it. So troublesome. :)



How to Read Naruto Fic:
1. Use Delicious tags, a recs list/comm, or a good favorites page on ff.net. Read fic until you realize you have been on ff.net for two hours looking for someone who knows the difference between "lose" and "loose" or who at least doesn't refer to Naruto as "Sasuke's little whore".

2. Read one of these stories to regain faith:
rageprufrock: Telephone, White Wedding
thehoyden, Opening the Roads, Spies Like Us, How to File Form 39-B
Megyal is also a good author and Paxnirvana.

They're all Kakashi/Iruka, which seems to rise to the top when reading Kakashi fic. (I don't think you need much Naruto to read these. All you need to know is that Naruto is the host to a demon that almost destroyed the village and killed many people the year he was born. Iruka lost both his parents to the demon fox. He was Naruto's teacher, and while initially cold towards him, eventually caved and is now Naruto's main source of parental affection. Say Aww.)

3. Return to Step 1. Repeat as needed. I think I'm a few weeks away from memorizing Telephone and Spies Like Us in their entirety.



And that's where I've been. What are you guys watching/reading these days?